Oh man! One of the best guitar demos I've seen, you really show the versatility and tonality of this guitar - covering many genres and styles - rather than just going the hi-gain shred route which other reviews do but which totally undersell the Fishman Fluences. Maybe it's the teacher in you, maybe it's just that you know how to demo properly, I dunno. Either way, you've made me want to buy that guitar. Hats off Andy!
Those fishman pickups wow. At first I wasn’t a fan of the reverse headstock but I imagine since the bottom strings don’t go through a string tree it probably doesn’t have string ping as bad as most strats and teles do. Cool
The best demo I've seen for this guitar. I'm really considering one because of it. Had to stop watching in the middle when the video and audio were out of sync, but really great playing.
Thanks, the Neural DSP plug-ins are quite new to me - they're some of the most convincing amp/cab sims I've heard. I still love a real tube amp, but not always practical for home recording!
Fantastic review brother ! I have the fluence pu’s in my Ibanez axion multi scale guitar and the note separation is superb..clarity is epic Combine that with lack of extraneous noise and they are really almost high fi. It makes me see that all my practice has paid off. The Charvel neck is something to behold..,I have the Dk24 in hh and hss and I can honestly say it’s the best neck I have ever played. You are a great musician and did a superb job of displaying all the possibilities of this axe. I’ve ordered one of these and psyched on running it thru it’s paces Thanks
Sounds great - I liked the Jazz sound on the modern humbucker - the distorted sound is too extreme on those for my taste, but once you go there, its difficult to adjust to less dirt.
Great demo and review of this guitar. Fabulous playing! Been eyeing these with the fishman and these are in a great price point for the tones you get. Huge Charvel fan. 🎸😎👍
Been obsessed with this guitar for a while now. Just can't seem to come up with an extra thousand bucks though. Been considering buying a cheapo and upgrading it into something like this.
Thanks! Yes, if I remember correctly most of these were recorded direct using Neural DSP plug-ins for amp tones. These days I use my Revv D20 amp to record sometimes too.
Thanks! I probably made my biggest steps forward during my 4 year music degree where I had a great tutor (and time to practice!). It’s a constant journey though and I’m still trying to get better 11+ years after graduating, it’s frustrating and rewarding in equal measure! 😃
@@AndyWattGuitar Thats the great thing about it, the learning and the journey are everlasting as long as the passion is there! I'm getting son one of those guitars but without the Trem.
Great plating Andy! Curious - What gauge strings do you have on this demo?. I know Charvel's usually come stock with .9's. Assuming ..10 - .46 would be fine as well
Hey Andy, just wondering on pinch harmonics here - I'm struggling to get them to sing on my guitar unless I use a delicate approach, not a problem on other guitars I own, but I know the action on mine was much lower than I'm used to - did you find that you adjusted the action to suit your playing style? I've kind of got used to it now, the playability is insanely fast but I've definitely had to adjust my hamfisted picking hand as when playing live I've had strings pop out the nut and the high-e get stuck under the neck pickup!! (I have since lowered them both and put a bit of tape on for good measure) Thanks!
I haven’t noticed much difference when it comes to pinch harmonics really, though when mine arrived the action wasn’t particularly low and I’ve kept it relatively high out of preference. The bridge pickup definitely conveys the harmonics more readily, as you would expect. Just had mine in for a setup so it’s playing nicely!
@@AndyWattGuitar Thanks, I think I'll have a tinker, and probably raise the action a tad or adjust the truss rod to give more relief. I do a lot of index finger bends nowadays so have dropped down to 8.5's, thinking of going to 8's next! Anyway, happy guitaring - The So Cal Style 2 is a hard guitar to put down!!
@@AndyWattGuitar Excellent, my findings which may be useful: with the pickups lowered, the single coil mode is very notably reduced in output almost like a coil-split. It does have an effect on tone with the humbuckers too with a bit more articulation under higher gain as you'd expect. I raised them back up so both were 2mm on the bass side and 1.5mm treble side away from the strings (fretted at the 24th fret). My pinch harmonics started to pop out a bit more then, but its an action issue I believe I have in regards to that. Additionally, in general I found the guitar to be incredibly bright and spiky, this meant some less than ideal global EQing on the amp when switching to a conventional passive humbuckered/single coil guitar. So what I did was activate the High Frequency Tilt - and very simply too. All you have to do is pop the strings off, unscrew the humbuckers and on the underside you can create a bridge between the HFT pad and the Ground pad next to it - rather than solder I used a thin strip of copper shielding tape which is easily reversible and the result is spot on, the tone knob has much more of a roll off effect and you still retain that spank without the shrill higher frequencies!
@@3rdtonefromthesun Thanks for this, very interesting to hear your thoughts! I had read about the HFT pad in the Fishman manual but never looked into using it - I might give that a go with copper tape as you suggest. I had my Charvel set up by a local repair guy the other week - not a dramatic difference but playing even nicer after a light fret dress and some tweaks to the truss rod etc!
Probably somewhere between the two - bridge single coil is twangy but not ice-picky. There's a few other videos on my channel where I was going for a 'tele twang' vibe 👍🎸😎
Your playing skills really show the versatility of this guitar. Both are amazing.
This video has sold me on purchasing this model Charvel. Extremely versatile and just cool looking. Thanks
This is easily the best demo I've seen of this guitar!
Oh man! One of the best guitar demos I've seen, you really show the versatility and tonality of this guitar - covering many genres and styles - rather than just going the hi-gain shred route which other reviews do but which totally undersell the Fishman Fluences. Maybe it's the teacher in you, maybe it's just that you know how to demo properly, I dunno. Either way, you've made me want to buy that guitar.
Hats off Andy!
Really glad you enjoyed it, my friend! Thanks for the kind words 😎🎸👍
Those fishman pickups wow. At first I wasn’t a fan of the reverse headstock but I imagine since the bottom strings don’t go through a string tree it probably doesn’t have string ping as bad as most strats and teles do. Cool
You are a hell of a guitar player
Thank you for a complete demo and review of this guitar!
Most welcome! Now I just need Charvel to send me a few of their other models to review.... 😂 🎸
I've one. It's a sweet and complex guitar sound. Congratulations for the video. Best regards.
The best demo I've seen for this guitar. I'm really considering one because of it. Had to stop watching in the middle when the video and audio were out of sync, but really great playing.
I agree 100%. This is certainly now on my short list of the Teles I am looking at to purchase within the next few weeks.
Best demo of this guitar's tones that I can find! Many thanks!
Fantastic demo! I could listen to you all day! Thankyou.
Impressive number sounds from that setup. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, the Neural DSP plug-ins are quite new to me - they're some of the most convincing amp/cab sims I've heard. I still love a real tube amp, but not always practical for home recording!
Dear lord you play country bending, better than anyone that i have heard in a very long time. ! great job my friend .....
Fantastic review brother !
I have the fluence pu’s in my Ibanez axion multi scale guitar and the note separation is superb..clarity is epic
Combine that with lack of extraneous noise and they are really almost high fi.
It makes me see that all my practice has paid off.
The Charvel neck is something to behold..,I have the Dk24 in hh and hss and I can honestly say it’s the best neck
I have ever played.
You are a great musician and did a superb job of displaying all the possibilities of this axe. I’ve ordered one of these and psyched on
running it thru it’s paces
Thanks
Yeah, Fishman Fluence seem like a real breakthrough in pickup design, so much clarity and versatility. Glad you liked the video! 😎 🎸
Perfection 👌✨
Sounds great - I liked the Jazz sound on the modern humbucker - the distorted sound is too extreme on those for my taste, but once you go there, its difficult to adjust to less dirt.
Really nice demo! Thanks Andy
Brilliant playing, sir! Best guitar demo I have ever watched!
Very nice playing.
Great review and playing.
Thanks for these demos. Purchased this guitar because of your thorough reviews. I wish I could get that info to Fender.
Made me order that guitar bro playing superb tones magnificent
Awesome - enjoy!! 🎸 🤘
Great demo and review of this guitar. Fabulous playing! Been eyeing these with the fishman and these are in a great price point for the tones you get. Huge Charvel fan. 🎸😎👍
Thanks for the demo! I was looking into buying this guitar!
You're welcome! Lots of videos about the guitar on my channel, as you may have seen 😎🎸👍
Been obsessed with this guitar for a while now. Just can't seem to come up with an extra thousand bucks though. Been considering buying a cheapo and upgrading it into something like this.
You are really a good player.
Great playing Andy! Great tones too! Just curious, Are you plugged directly into your DAW?
Thanks! Yes, if I remember correctly most of these were recorded direct using Neural DSP plug-ins for amp tones. These days I use my Revv D20 amp to record sometimes too.
Sweet playing on all fronts! How long have you been playing? ... how many years did it take for you to break through in your fluidity?
Thanks! I probably made my biggest steps forward during my 4 year music degree where I had a great tutor (and time to practice!). It’s a constant journey though and I’m still trying to get better 11+ years after graduating, it’s frustrating and rewarding in equal measure! 😃
@@AndyWattGuitar Thats the great thing about it, the learning and the journey are everlasting as long as the passion is there! I'm getting son one of those guitars but without the Trem.
@@elizabethanderson2968 great, hope he enjoys!
Sounds great! What are you playing at 4:10?
Thanks! All the examples here were just made up when recording. I think 4:10 was possibly slightly Frank Vignola inspired....
Nice playing! Wish it had stainless steel frets. How much does yours weigh? Thanks!
Cheers! Mine is a modest 3.6kg (8lb) 👍
Thanks!
Great plating Andy! Curious - What gauge strings do you have on this demo?. I know Charvel's usually come stock with .9's. Assuming ..10 - .46 would be fine as well
Thanks! Yeah, it ships with 9s but I switched up to Elixir 10s without problem, just need to adjust the trem springs 👍
Hey Andy, just wondering on pinch harmonics here - I'm struggling to get them to sing on my guitar unless I use a delicate approach,
not a problem on other guitars I own, but I know the action on mine was much lower than I'm used to - did you find that you adjusted the action to suit your playing style?
I've kind of got used to it now, the playability is insanely fast but I've definitely had to adjust my hamfisted picking hand as when playing live I've had strings pop out the nut and the high-e get stuck under the neck pickup!! (I have since lowered them both and put a bit of tape on for good measure)
Thanks!
I haven’t noticed much difference when it comes to pinch harmonics really, though when mine arrived the action wasn’t particularly low and I’ve kept it relatively high out of preference. The bridge pickup definitely conveys the harmonics more readily, as you would expect. Just had mine in for a setup so it’s playing nicely!
@@AndyWattGuitar Thanks, I think I'll have a tinker, and probably raise the action a tad or adjust the truss rod to give more relief.
I do a lot of index finger bends nowadays so have dropped down to 8.5's, thinking of going to 8's next! Anyway, happy guitaring - The So Cal Style 2 is a hard guitar to put down!!
@@AndyWattGuitar Excellent, my findings which may be useful: with the pickups lowered, the single coil mode is very notably reduced in output almost like a coil-split.
It does have an effect on tone with the humbuckers too with a bit more articulation under higher gain as you'd expect. I raised them back up so both were 2mm on the bass side and 1.5mm treble side away from the strings (fretted at the 24th fret). My pinch harmonics started to pop out a bit more then, but its an action issue I believe I have in regards to that.
Additionally, in general I found the guitar to be incredibly bright and spiky, this meant some less than ideal global EQing on the amp when switching to a conventional passive humbuckered/single coil guitar.
So what I did was activate the High Frequency Tilt - and very simply too.
All you have to do is pop the strings off, unscrew the humbuckers and on the underside you can create a bridge between the HFT pad and the Ground pad next to it - rather than solder I used a thin strip of copper shielding tape which is easily reversible and the result is spot on, the tone knob has much more of a roll off effect and you still retain that spank without the shrill higher frequencies!
@@3rdtonefromthesun Thanks for this, very interesting to hear your thoughts! I had read about the HFT pad in the Fishman manual but never looked into using it - I might give that a go with copper tape as you suggest. I had my Charvel set up by a local repair guy the other week - not a dramatic difference but playing even nicer after a light fret dress and some tweaks to the truss rod etc!
How would you compare the single coil sounds to a strat or tele? They sound close in this video.
Probably somewhere between the two - bridge single coil is twangy but not ice-picky. There's a few other videos on my channel where I was going for a 'tele twang' vibe 👍🎸😎
Hows the upper fret access?
Really good - the cutaway is sculpted for easy access all the way to 24 👍
so is there is 3 voices. Paf/Modern and Single coil or is it you can single coil the Paf and modern only?
Yeah, 3 separate voices. The mini toggle switch (PAF/modern) is bypassed when in single coil mode.